Cable bender

ABSTRACT

A lightweight, manually operable cable bender particularly adapted for forming expansion loops in relatively stiff cable, such as coaxial cable, during aerial cable stringing operations. The bender includes a lightweight plate member forming the main frame which carries a pair of bending shoes on its outer ends and an auxiliary frame carrying intermediate bending shoes, with the main and auxiliary frames interconnected by a rack and pinion to draw the shoes carried by the frames towards each other and form a loop in a straight piece of cable engaged by the shoes. The cable bender can be constructed to handle a single cable at a time or two or more cables simultaneously. In either case the bender permits the formation of loops at any point along the cable, eliminating the necessity of having access to a cable end in order to form a loop therein.

United States Patent [191 Jackson July 23, 1974 1 CABLE BENDER [75] Inventor: Richard L. Jackson, Lewisburg,

Ohio

[73] Assignee: Jackson Communication Corporation, Brookville, Ohio [22] Filed: Dec. 4, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 311,470

[52] U.S. Cl. 72/389 [51] Int. Cl, B21d 7/06 ,[58]' Field of Search 72/389, 380, 381, 386, 72/705, 392, 393, 395, 300, 301,457, 458, 459, 460, 461; 140/123 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,457,020 5/1923 Collins 72/386 2,740,435 4/1956 Pritts 72/386 3,507,141 4/1970 Fisher 72/389 3,531,972 10/1970 Smith 72/389 3,691,815 Deacon 72/389 1 Primary Examiner-Charles W. Lanham Assistant Examiner-Gene P. Crosby Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Biebel, French & Bugg [57] ABSTRACT A lightweight, manually operable cable bender particularly adapted for forming expansion loops in rela-- tively stiff cable, such as coaxial cable, during aerial cable stringing operations. The bender includes a lightweight plate member forming the main frame which carries a pair of bending shoes on its outer ends by the frames towards each other and form a loop in a straight piece of cable engaged by the shoes. The cable bender can be constructed to handle a single cable at a time or two or more cables simultaneously.

In either case the bender permits the formation of loops at any point along the cable, eliminating the necessity of having access to a cable end in order to form a loop therein.

11 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures FAIENTEDmzsmu SBEU 2 BF 2 FIG-9 1 CABLE BENDER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In the aerial stringing of cables, such as coaxial cables, it is necessary to form at predetermined intervals, expansion loops to compensate for temperature changes. Usually it is desirable to form these loops in the cable after it has been installed, usually suspended from a messenger strand running, at some distance above the ground, between adjacent poles. It is desirable, therefore, that the lineman forming the loop in the cable be provided with equipment that can be easily handled. Additionally, since the cable to be bent will usually be installed before the loop is formed, the cable bender should be attachable to the cable from the side thereof without access to the ends of the cable. While several types of benders are commercially available they generally requireaccess to the end ofthe cable in which it is desired to form a loop, are relatively difficult to handle, or both.

Another problem in forming expansion loops in cables such as coaxial cables, is that extreme care must be taken not to damage the cable during thebending process or distort the cross sectional configuration of the cable, since damage or distortion will'result in interference with the signal transmitted by thecable-and faulty reception. In this regard it should be noted that much of the cable handling equipment commercially available was designed for handling other,more flexible and durable types of cable than coaxial cable, and

the result is often damage to the coaxial cable during installation.

Two popular types of cable benders are disclosed in the catalogue of General Machine Products Company, Incorporated, Catalogue Nos. 7410 and 7945,'while an additional item, designed to introduce slack into a cable for splicing and repair work and known-as a slack puller, is referenced as Catalogue No. '8245.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present inventionprovides a cable bender particularly adapted for working with relatively stiff, fragile coaxial cable and one which is lightweight and readily handled in aerial operations and adapted to form expansion loops in cable without access to the ends thereof.

In accordance with the presentinvention, the main frame of the cable bender is formed as a lightweight, flat plate member having a centrally located base member, a pair of side members projecting from opposite ends of the base and end members projectingfrom the side members. The end members carry carefullycontoured forming shoes, preferably formed of Teflon or a Teflon coated aluminum casting, to prevent damage to the cable during bending.

The base member carries a rack extending perpendicular from the base member and mounting anauxiliary frame which is also formed from a relatively lightweight plate member. On one side of the auxiliary frame are mounted a pair of spaced forming shoes having, like the main frame forming shoes, carefullycontoured surfaces adapted to engage the opposite sides of the cable positioned in the cable bender.

The auxiliary frame also carries a pinion housing rotatively mounting a pinion engageable with the teeth of the rack which extends through a passageway formed in the pinion housing. While the rack is described as attached to the main frame and the pinion mounted on the auxiliary frame, it will be apparent that their positions may be reversed.

Regardless of this, in a preferred embodiment of the invention the edge of the rack opposite its toothed edge is provided with a pair of spaced detents adjacent each of its ends. The pinion housing carries detent engaging means, such as a spring loaded plunger or ball, which engages in the rack detents when the cable bender is in either its fully opened or fully closed position. This both facilitates the positioning of the fully opened cable bender on a cable and its handling between uses.

By the use of relatively flat plate members rather than heavy cast frames or tubular frames, the overall weight of the unit and, consequently, its ease of handling are greatly improved. 'This is highly important when the operator is working several feet above the ground. At the same time, by mounting the forming shoes for relative movement in substantially the plane of the plate members forming the frame, the substantial rigidity and strength necessary in the cable bending operations are obtained. Additionally, with the cable bender of the present invention the cable may be inserted from the side of the bender between its opposed shoes when the bender is in its open position. Thus, an expansion loop may be formed at any point along the cable without access to an end of the cable.

In another preferred embodiment of the invention all of the advantages of the cable bender described above are maintained, but, additionally the capability of simultaneously engaging two cables is gained. In this embodiment, a second main and auxiliary frame, both in plate form, are mounted on an opposite side of the rack and pinion mechanism in spaced parallel relationship to the main and auxiliary frames of the embodiment described above and carry opposed forming shoes, again, similarly to the embodiment described above.

With this modification a cable may be positioned on each side of the cable bender between the pairs of opposed shoes and a pair of expansion loops formed in the cables simultaneously. Additionally, it will be apparent that, if desired, more than two sets of main and auxiliary frames and forming shoes can be attached to the basic framework. This embodiment is also suited for handling different size cables with one cable bender since it will be apparent that one set of forming shoes can be provided with cable engaging contours adapted for relatively large diameter cables while the other set of shoes can be provided with contours adapted to engage relatively small diameter cables.

In both embodiments, however, it will be seen that the cable bender of the present invention is lightweight, easily handled and adapted for aerial work, can be positioned on a cable without access to an end thereof and forms a smoothly curved expansion loop in the cable without damage thereto.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a view of a cable installation in which the cable is provided with expansion loops;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the cable bender in accordance with the present invention with the bender in its open position;

FIG. 3 is a view of the opposite side of the bender of FIG. 2 showing it in the closed position;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 4-4 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken of line 55 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is an exploded view of a pinion housing;

FIG. 7 is a side view of a multiple cable bender;

FIG. 8 is a view taken on line 88 of FIG. 7; and

FIG. 9 is a view taken on line 9-9 of FIG. 7.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS As seen in FIG. 1 of the drawings, a typical cable installation, such as a coaxial cable installation, will include a supporting messenger cable 10 clamped to and extending between a plurality of supporting poles 12. The coaxial cable 14, or a plurality of such cables, are suspended from the messenger cable and attached thereto by helicallashing 16.

It is desirable to form in the coaxial cable or cables at predetermined intervals expansion loops 18 to compensate for changes in temperature which are likely to be encountered. To form these loops the cable bender 20, as best seen in FIGS. 2 and 3 of the drawings, may

be utilized in accordance with the present invention.

The cable bender 20 includes a main frame 22 which is formed as a relatively thin, lightweight plate member of a material such as aluminum or an aluminum alloy. The main frame includes a base member 24, a pair of side members 26 extending angularly outwardly from opposite ends of base member 24 and a pair of end members 28 which project outwardly from the ends of the side members in diverging relationship to each other. It will be noted that the base, side and end members are preferably formed integrally from a single plate so that they are in the substantially coplanar relationship to each other.

A rack 30 maybe attached by welding or the like 32 to a mounting bracket 34 adapted to be bolted to the base member'by means of bolts or the like 36. The rack 30 is provided with a plurality of regularly spaced teeth 38 along one longitudinal edge thereof and a pair of spaced detents 40 and 42 adjacent its opposite ends.

An auxiliary frame 44 is also formed from a plate member, similarly to the main frame 22. Mounted on one side of the auxiliary frame 44 by means of bolts or the like 46 is a pinion housing 48. The pinion housing, as best seen in FIGS. 5 and 6, includes a pair of housing plates 50 and 52 sandwiching between them a central housing body 54 on one side and a block-56 on the opposite side, with the members 54 and 56 defining a passageway 58 therebetween for the reception of the rack A shaft 60 carries a tool engaging head 62-at one end, and is received in a bushing 64 at the opposite end. A pinion 66 is pinned to shaft 60 by means of a pin 68 intermediate the bushing 64 and tool engaging end 62. The block 56 has a threaded opening 70 formed therein for the reception of a hollow bolt 72 which in turn car- I carries a pair of intermediate forming shoes 82 having semi-circular grooves of the same configuration as grooves formed in their surfaces facing the base member 24, as indicated by the dotted lines at 84, and these grooves both curve inwardly toward base mem ber 24.

Both the end member shoes 78 and the intermediate shoes 82'are bolted to their respective main and auxiliary frames on the corresponding sides thereof to place the cable engaging grooves in opposition to each other. When the cable bender is in its fully opened position, as seen in FIG. 2 of the drawings, a stop pin 86 will engage the auxiliary frame and the member 74 will be engaged in the outermost detent 42 to hold the tube bender in its open position.

A substantially straight cable 14 can then be inserted between the opposed cable engaging grooves 80 and 84 by relative movement between the cable and the cable bender normal to the length of the cable. Thus, access to the endsof the cable is not required to position the cable in the cable bender. Thereafter, a tool such as a rachet typev socket wrench may be engaged on the end 62 of the shaft 60 and the auxiliary frame caused to move along the rack 30 to the position shown in FIG. 3 of the drawings, forminga smoothly curved bend in the cable 14. During the forming operation the cable rides in the substantially semi-circular grooves in the forming shoes so that damage to the cable is avoided.

Thereafter, the auxiliary frame can be backed off from the fully closed position to the open position. Between uses however, it may be desirable to shift the auxiliary frame to the fully closed position, where the detent 40 will be engaged by member 74 to prevent inadvertent movement of the auxiliary frame along the rack during handling.

In FIGS. 7 and 8 of the drawings, another preferred embodiment of the invention is shown wherein a second frame 90 having a base member 92, side members 94 and end members 96 is mounted in spaced parallel realtionship to an identical main frame having corresponding base, side and end members. The end members of each frame are. spaced by spacers 98 and each carries forming shoes 100 having grooves 102 formed therein, similar to the forming shoes 78.

An auxiliary frame 103 is formed of two, spaced, parallel plate members 104, also provided with spacers 106 which extend between the plate members, and shoes 108, which like the shoes 82, have grooves 110 formed in their surfaces facing the base members 92.

The rack 112 has welded to its opposite edges, as at 113, blocks 114 which are bolted to the base members 92 by means of bolts 116. A pinion housing 118, similar to the pinion housing 46, is mounted between the spaced auxiliary frame members 104 and carries a pinion for engagement with the teeth 122 of the rack 112. The shaft on which the pinion is fixed carries on its outer end a tool engaging head 124 for engagement by a ratchet type socket wrench or the like. v

With the embodiment shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 of the drawings, it will be seen that expansion loops may be formed in two cables simultaneously or that the shoes on one side may be adapted to engage cables of one diameter and the shoes on the other adapted to engage cables of another diameter. It will also be apparent that the frames and associated shoes may be formed in multiples so that more than two cables can be worked simultaneously.

Regardless, in all embodiments, it will be seen that the present invention provides a lightweight, easily handled cable bender particularly adapted for aerial work and especially designed to handle relatively fragile cables of the coaxial type.

While the forms of apparatus herein described constitute preferred embodiments of the invention, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to these precise forms of apparatus, and that changes may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention.

What is claimed is: e

l. A cable bender comprising:

a. a substantially flat plate member forming a main frame having a base member,

b. outer shoe means mounted on said main frame,

c. said outer shoe means having cable engaging portions facing away from and curving outwardly away from said main frame,

d. an auxiliary frame positioned opposite said main frame,

e. intermediate shoe means mounted on said auxiliary frame,

f. said intermediate shoe means having cable engaging portions facing said main frame,

g. rack and pinion means interconnecting said main and auxiliary frames,

h. the rack of said rack and pinion means being of sufficient length to permit said main and auxiliary frames to be spaced far enough apart that the opposed cable engaging portions of their respective shoe means are on opposite sides of a substantially straight cable positioned in saidcable bender, and

. said cable bender being completely open from a side thereof to permit a substantially straight cable to be positioned between said opposedv cable engaging portions by movement of said cable bender normal to the length of the cable.

2. The cable bender of claim l-wherein:

a. said auxiliary frame is formed as a-flat plate member positioned in substantially coplanar relationship to said plate member of said main frame.

3. The cable bender of claim 1 wherein:

a. side members project outwardly away from each end of said base member in substantially coplanar relationship with said base member and in diverging relationship with each other.

4. The cable bender of claim 3 wherein:

a. end members extend outwardly from outer ends of said side members in diverging relationship to each other, and

b. said outer shoe means are attached to said end members.

5. The cable bender of claim 1 wherein:

a. said rack includes means defining detents in said rack adjacent opposite ends thereof, and

b. detent-engaging means mounted for engagement with said detents when said cable bender is in a fully opened or fully closed position.

6. The cable bender of claim 5 wherein:

a. said rack is mounted on said base member,

b. a pinion housing is mounted on said auxiliary frame and rotatably mounts the pinion of said rack and pinion means therein, and

c. said detent engaging means includes a spring loaded member carried by said pinion housing.

7. The cable bender of claim 1 wherein:

a. said cable engaging portions comprise means defining semi-circular grooves in said shoe means.

8. The cable bender of claim 1 wherein:

a. said intermediate shoe means comprising a pair of spaced shoes.

9. The cable bender of claim 4 further comprising:

a. a second main frame formed of a plate member and including base, side and end members corresponding to said base, side and end members of said first named main frame and extending in spaced parallel relationship thereto,

b. a second auxiliary frame corresponding to said first named auxiliary frame extendingin spaced parallel relationship thereto,

c. opposed shoe means carried by said end members of said second main frame and said second auxiliary frame and corresponding to said shoe members carried'by said first named main frame and auxiliary frame,

d. said second named main andauxiliary frames being mounted on said rack and pinion means opposite said first main and auxiliary frames and providing access to said shoe means thereof by a movement of said cable-bender with respect to a cable normal to the length of the cable.

10. A cable bender comprising:

a. a first, lightweight, substantially flat plate member forming a main frame,

b. said main frame including:

i. an elongated flat base member,

ii. a side member. projecting outwardly away from each end of said base member in substantially coplanar relationship thereto and in diverging relationship with each other, and

iii. an end member projecting outwardly from the outer end of each side member in substantially coplanar relationship thereto and in diverging relationship to each other,

e. a cable engaging shoe mounted on each of said end members on one side of said main frame,

d. a cable engaging groove formed in a surface of each of said end member shoes facing away from said base member and curving outwardly away therefrom,

e. an elongated rack mounted on a side of said main frame opposite said one side at a medial portion of said base member and projecting away therefrom substantially equidistantly between said side and end members,

f. said rack having a series of regularly spaced teeth along one edge thereof and spaced detents formed in an opposite edge thereof adjacent the opposite ends thereof,

- g. a lightweight substantially flat plate member forming a first auxiliary frame positioned opposite said base member in substantially coplanar relationship thereto,

h. a pinion housingmounted on a side of said auxiliary frame corresponding to said opposite side of said main frame,

i. means defining a passageway through said pinion housing receiving said rack therein,

j. a pinion rotatably mounted in said housing in engagement with said teeth of said rack,

k. spring loaded detent engaging means mounted in said pinion housing opposite said opposite edge of said rack and engageable with said detents when said auxiliary frame is positioned in fully open and fully closed positions with respect to said main frame,

l. a pair of central, cable engaging shoes mounted on a side of said auxiliary frame corresponding to said one side of said main frame,

111. cable engaging grooves formed in surfaces of said central shoes facing toward said base member in opposition to said grooves formed in said end member shoes and curving inwardly toward said base member,

n. said rack being of sufficient length that a substantially straight cable may be received between said opposed cable engaging grooves when said main and auxiliary frames are in said fully open position, and

0. said cable bender being completely open on the side thereof on which said shoes are mounted to allow a substantially straight cable to be positioned therein by relative movement of the cable bender in a direction normal to the legnth of the cable.

11. The cable bender of claim 10 further comprising:

shoes. 

1. A cable bender comprising: a. a substantially flat plate member forming a main frame having a base member, b. outer shoe means mounted on said main frame, c. said outer shoe means having cable engaging portions facing away from and curving outwardly away from said main frame, d. an auxiliary frame positioned opposite said main frame, e. intermediate shoe means mounted on said auxiliary frame, f. said intermediate shoe means having cable engaging portions facing said main frame, g. rack and pinion means interconnecting said main and auxiliary frames, h. the rack of said rack and pinion means being of sufficient length to permit said mAin and auxiliary frames to be spaced far enough apart that the opposed cable engaging portions of their respective shoe means are on opposite sides of a substantially straight cable positioned in said cable bender, and i. said cable bender being completely open from a side thereof to permit a substantially straight cable to be positioned between said opposed cable engaging portions by movement of said cable bender normal to the length of the cable.
 2. The cable bender of claim 1 wherein: a. said auxiliary frame is formed as a flat plate member positioned in substantially coplanar relationship to said plate member of said main frame.
 3. The cable bender of claim 1 wherein: a. side members project outwardly away from each end of said base member in substantially coplanar relationship with said base member and in diverging relationship with each other.
 4. The cable bender of claim 3 wherein: a. end members extend outwardly from outer ends of said side members in diverging relationship to each other, and b. said outer shoe means are attached to said end members.
 5. The cable bender of claim 1 wherein: a. said rack includes means defining detents in said rack adjacent opposite ends thereof, and b. detent-engaging means mounted for engagement with said detents when said cable bender is in a fully opened or fully closed position.
 6. The cable bender of claim 5 wherein: a. said rack is mounted on said base member, b. a pinion housing is mounted on said auxiliary frame and rotatably mounts the pinion of said rack and pinion means therein, and c. said detent engaging means includes a spring loaded member carried by said pinion housing.
 7. The cable bender of claim 1 wherein: a. said cable engaging portions comprise means defining semi-circular grooves in said shoe means.
 8. The cable bender of claim 1 wherein: a. said intermediate shoe means comprising a pair of spaced shoes.
 9. The cable bender of claim 4 further comprising: a. a second main frame formed of a plate member and including base, side and end members corresponding to said base, side and end members of said first named main frame and extending in spaced parallel relationship thereto, b. a second auxiliary frame corresponding to said first named auxiliary frame extending in spaced parallel relationship thereto, c. opposed shoe means carried by said end members of said second main frame and said second auxiliary frame and corresponding to said shoe members carried by said first named main frame and auxiliary frame, d. said second named main and auxiliary frames being mounted on said rack and pinion means opposite said first main and auxiliary frames and providing access to said shoe means thereof by a movement of said cable bender with respect to a cable normal to the length of the cable.
 10. A cable bender comprising: a. a first, lightweight, substantially flat plate member forming a main frame, b. said main frame including: i. an elongated flat base member, ii. a side member projecting outwardly away from each end of said base member in substantially coplanar relationship thereto and in diverging relationship with each other, and iii. an end member projecting outwardly from the outer end of each side member in substantially coplanar relationship thereto and in diverging relationship to each other, c. a cable engaging shoe mounted on each of said end members on one side of said main frame, d. a cable engaging groove formed in a surface of each of said end member shoes facing away from said base member and curving outwardly away therefrom, e. an elongated rack mounted on a side of said main frame opposite said one side at a medial portion of said base member and projecting away therefrom substantially equidistantly between said side and end members, f. said rack having a series of regularly spaced teeth along one edge thereof and spaced detents formed in an opposite eDge thereof adjacent the opposite ends thereof, g. a lightweight substantially flat plate member forming a first auxiliary frame positioned opposite said base member in substantially coplanar relationship thereto, h. a pinion housing mounted on a side of said auxiliary frame corresponding to said opposite side of said main frame, i. means defining a passageway through said pinion housing receiving said rack therein, j. a pinion rotatably mounted in said housing in engagement with said teeth of said rack, k. spring loaded detent engaging means mounted in said pinion housing opposite said opposite edge of said rack and engageable with said detents when said auxiliary frame is positioned in fully open and fully closed positions with respect to said main frame, l. a pair of central, cable engaging shoes mounted on a side of said auxiliary frame corresponding to said one side of said main frame, m. cable engaging grooves formed in surfaces of said central shoes facing toward said base member in opposition to said grooves formed in said end member shoes and curving inwardly toward said base member, n. said rack being of sufficient length that a substantially straight cable may be received between said opposed cable engaging grooves when said main and auxiliary frames are in said fully open position, and o. said cable bender being completely open on the side thereof on which said shoes are mounted to allow a substantially straight cable to be positioned therein by relative movement of the cable bender in a direction normal to the legnth of the cable.
 11. The cable bender of claim 10 further comprising: a. a second plate member positioned in spaced parallel relationship to said first plate member with said rack mounted therebetween, b. said second plate member having base, side and end members corresponding to said main frame base, side and end members and cable engaging shoes on said end members thereof, and c. a second auxiliary frame mounted on said pinion housing in spaced parallel relationship to said first auxiliary frame and carrying central cable engaging shoes. 